Report: Warriors interested in Butler ahead of 2025 free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors continue to monitor the top of the NBA trade market.
After losing out on Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in exchange for other players during the offseason, Golden State is hoping to land a star player to play alongside Steph Curry during the 2024-25 NBA season.
While nothing appears to be happening yet, the Warriors have previously expressed interest in acquiring Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, as Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on a recent episode of “The TK Show” with Tim Kawakami.
“You’ve got to let the wheels fall off somewhere,” Amick told Kawakami about which star player the Warriors could pursue. “Not in free agency, but in trades. A couple of guys that come to mind, Jimmy Butler is going to be a free agent next summer. He didn’t get an extension. The Warriors, as you know, have interest in them and I think they probably made a couple of calls over the summer. That’s the name that comes to mind.”
The 34-year-old Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game in 60 games for the Heat last season.
Butler is under contract with Miami for $48.79 million this coming season and could hit the open market this summer by declining his $52 million option for the 2025-26 season.
Barring a roster shakeup, the Warriors likely won’t be able to sign Butler via free agency next summer due to salary cap issues. However, they could trade the six-time All-Star at some point during the season or, like George, via a sign-and-trade with Miami next season.
If Miami’s season goes poorly, could the Warriors make a move to sign Jimmy Buckets?
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